Environmental challenges of the 21st century: probelm-solution

In this very 21st century, global warming is confirmed to be the most threatening and most discussed issue on this planet. For our own sake, we must encounter it with variuos effective ways toughly. According to a BBC report, "Australian researchers found that sea levels rose by 19.5cm between 1870 and 2004, with accelerated rates in the final 50 years of that period." If the acceleration continues at current rate, the scientists warn that sea levels could rise during this century by between 28 and 34cm. Since the industrial revolution began in United Kingdom, human beings have been starting to plot unavoidable consequence which we are facing today. We have raised the temperature more than one degree Fahrenheit, which equals to 0.56 degree Celcius since 1950 (McKibben, 2007). Due to the increase of overall global temperature which caused by over-emission of greenhouse gases, the ice glaciers at the arctic zones have been melted at alarming rate which will directly affect the rise of sea levels. Therefore, the emission of greenhouse gases must be reduced by several methods.

First of all, lowering fossil fuels is one of the ways to effectively reduce the emission because almost all current modes of transportation depend on petrol and they release tons of those greenhouse gases daily. According to a report from Environment protection Authority Victoria (EPA Victoria) (2008), the emmision of greenhous gases generated only by petrol of vehicles has accumulated up to 252.20 tons between 2006 and 2007 in Victoria. From this point we can see how much fuel has been used in transporting goods and travel. So, we should replace the fuel we use today with other possible compositions, like hydrogen, ethanol and bio-diesel. Of course, if we want a total change in modern cars instantly, it will be impossible. However, more and more automobile manufacturers have been involved in developing new generation of cars in order to achieve the objective of using cleaner fuels to reduce greenhouse gases emission.

Another method is to limit or offset the greenhouse gases emission of industries. By imposing taxes on greenhouse gases emission, industrial owners may try to improve their facilities or production procedures to lower the emission to avoid paying more taxes. Owners may try to upgrade their facilities or use newer technologies to achieve the goal of reduce emission. Currently, there is a "Carbon Offset Program" been carried out in Victoria, which uses several ways including environmental friendly transportation, forestation and the set up of eco-friendly industries to offset the high amount of carbon released by those heavy industries in Victoria. From the report of EPA Victoria (2008), a total of about 1800 tons of greenhouse gases has been offset by several offset program conducted by EPA. However, the total emission of carbon for the last two years was about 4500 tons. Hence, effort from every party is still needed to greatly reduce the amount of carbon emission.

The above two methods are macro but for every one of us, we can do it in micro way. In daily lives, if we pay attention to every single move, we may help to save the world without consciousness. Namely, we can choose to walk instead of keep travelling in fossil fuel driven transportation when the destination is not so far away. We can also reduce the usage of products that come from those high carbon released industries, like plastic, non-environmental friendly stuffs. Energy saving is also an important way in lowering the emission of greenhouse gases as lots of fossil fuels are used in generating electricity. For example, we should switch off air-conditioners, fans and lights when we are not occupying a space or room.

In a nutshell, co-operations from every party in this world are absolutely needed to reach the goal of slowing down the climate change which affects the rise of sea levels directly. Not only those organizations or governments but also you and I have to indulge in the procedure of cutting down the emission of greenhouse gases. Even a minor move in daily lives can be a great way to help to save this world or can be said that to save ourselves from global warming which caused by over-emission of greenhouse gases.



References

Environmental Protection Authority, Victoria (2008, January). EPA's Carbon Neutral: Update 2006-07. Retrieved March 12, 2008, from
http://epanote2.epa.vic.gov.au/EPA/publications.nsf/2f1c2625731746aa4a256ce90001cbb5/f559a64875451a83ca2573540024b654/$FILE/1203.pdf

Juniper, T. (2007). Saving planet earth. United Kingdom: Harpercollis Publishers.

McKibben, B. (2007, October) Carbon's new math: To deal woth global warming, the first step is to do the numbers. National Geographic, 10/07, 33-37.

Sea level rise 'is accelerating'. (n.d.). BBC. Retrieved 16 February, 2008, from
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4651876.stm